Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe (5- Minutes)
Posted Sep 23, 2018, Updated Apr 14, 2024
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This easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe is made in 5 minutes with 8 ingredients. This no-cook sauce is truly the best pizza sauce recipe ever – developed from my experience working in a Chicago pizzeria!
We love making pizza at home because it’s easy (my kids have been making it every week since they were 5), fun and less expensive than delivery.
This is our go-to easy homemade pizza sauce recipe. It takes five minutes to make and results in the best pizza you’ve ever had.
I’m from Chicago (born and raised), so we’ve enjoyed some of the best pizza in the world. I remember, one evening after dining at a famous pizza restaurant my husband was less than impressed. I thought he had gone crazy!
His problem was with the sauce. “There was only a thin layer and it tasted just like tomatoes” was his personal opinion. He likes his pizza saucy, bold and flavorful and that particular pie just didn’t cut it. Moral of the story: there’s no weak sauce allowed in our household. And this Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe ensures that!
Pizza Sauce Recipe: Substitutions
Here are a few possible substitutions that can be made in this recipe.
- Tomato Sauce. Sometimes I run out of cans of tomato sauce, and in a pinch I have used a can of diced tomatoes that I tossed in the blender. You can also use fresh blended tomatoes as well.
- Tomato Paste. Please don’t leave out the tomato paste. It makes the pizza sauce thick which is key in making non-soggy pizza.
- Oregano/Italian seasoning. I always make this with dried spices, but you can use fresh. Also, if you like a sauce with a less bold flavor, you might want to start will less and add more to your preferences.
- Garlic salt. If you don’t keep garlic salt on hand, substitute an extra ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt.
- Granulated sugar. This can be omitted, or you can substitute honey. However the sugar enhances the flavor of the tomatoes and cuts the “bite” of the sauce.
Note: this pizza sauce recipe is vegan as written, so you can even make some great dairy-free pizzas with this recipe.
How to Make Pizza Sauce
This homemade pizza sauce recipe is easy to make in 5 minutes. You can also prepare it ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it to make pizza.
Begin by mixing the tomato paste and sauce together in a medium size bowl until well combined. Using a whisk is a great choice.
Then, add the rest of the ingredients (oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and sugar) and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the sauce.
Then, use it in your favorite pizza recipes. The flavor and essence of a pizza lies in the pizza sauce. So be sure to spread a nice, thick even layer on top of your pizza dough.
Pizza Recipes:
This Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe is our go-to. It requires no rising, and makes a delicious pizza in under 30 minutes! Or try this whole wheat pizza dough. And check out our extensive post on how to make pizza!
Also, try our favorite pizza recipes like cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza and BBQ chicken pizza – all of which use this sauce recipe!
How to Store Pizza Sauce
Store this pizza sauce in a glass jar with a lid for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
To use, let the sauce come to room temperature before spreading it on your pizza dough.
Pizza Sauce Recipe FAQs
This recipe makes enough sauce to make two large pizzas, or four medium-sized pizza.
This easy pizza sauce recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
This is a common question I get asked all the time! Here are some distinctions between the two:
Spaghetti sauce has a higher water content. This is why I don’t recommend using a jar of marinara when making homemade pizza, you could end up with a mushy watery mess!
Pizza sauce is thicker. this goes along with the point above, but pizza sauce contains tomato paste, which causes it to spread easier and more evenly!
Pizza sauce is more flavorful. This might be my own opinion, but we like a lot more spices in our pizza sauce than we do in our spaghetti sauce!
This recipe is for a no-cook pizza sauce so it does not need to be cooked.
I actually get this question a lot – please do not use ketchup as pizza sauce. Ketchup is not a substitute for any of the ingredients in this recipe.
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 1-2 Tablespoons dried oregano to taste
- 2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ Tablespoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar*
Instructions
- Mix tomato paste and sauce together in a medium size bowl until smooth.
- Add the rest of the ingredients – oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and sugar – and stir until evenly distributed throughout the sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Spread onto your favorite pizza dough recipe.
Video
Notes
- Tomato Sauce. Sometimes I run out of cans of tomato sauce, and in a pinch I have used a can of diced tomatoes that I tossed in the blender. You can also use fresh blended tomatoes as well.
- Tomato Paste. Please don’t leave out the tomato paste. It makes the pizza sauce thick which is key in making non-soggy pizza.
- Oregano/Italian seasoning. I always make this with dried spices, but you can use fresh. Also, if you like a sauce with a less bold flavor, you might want to start will less and add more to your preferences.
- Garlic salt. If you don’t keep garlic salt on hand, substitute an extra ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt.
- Granulated sugar. This can be omitted, or you can substitute honey. However the sugar enhances the flavor of the tomatoes and cuts the “bite” of the sauce.
- Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. The sauce will thicken in the refrigerator, so be sure to let it come to room temperature or gently warm it in the microwave before using!
- Freeze. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made this for our homemade pizza tonight and it was great but more importantly I warmed some up and used it as a dipping sauce for our cheesy breadsticks and my hubby said it was the best thing I’ve ever made. This was after he said he’d rather eat my cooking than go out to dinner so it’s not that I’m a bad cook… it’s just that yummy! And it’s the easiest thing to make! Super impressed and can’t wait to make it again!
I do see your comment regarding garlic powder and salt in place of garlic salt, but I don’t understand why you have written this recipe using garlic salt as opposed to simply increasing the amount of garlic powder and salt which both of which the recipe calls for anyway. At any rate, thank you for a good pizza sauce recipe.
We use garlic salt often and like the flavor.
Love the looks of this recipe, making it tonight. I was wondering if you can process this (can it) and how can I do that?? Could I use my pressure cooker to do that. I am fairly new to the whole canning process. Thank for your help and your recipe.
I’ve been using Rao’s pizza sauce for some time, because it was the only one I could find that didn’t have sugar added. So I tried this recipe (without sugar,) and am so happy with it. It tastes better than the store bought, goes on smoother (Rao’s has large chunks of tomato) and saves a considerable amount of my very limited money. I do have a question though, after a week in the fridge, the sauce thickened to the point of being practically solid. I added a cup of water to make it sauce again and it works and tastes just fine. What would cause this?
Thank you Keven! Yes – Rao is a great brand but not easy on the wallet! 😉 All you need to do is let the sauce come to room temperature and it will be spreadable again. This happens to us all the time.
At home, Saturday is Pizza day for a long time. My husband used to go to the best pizza restaurant in town to pickup 2 pizzas every Saturday. It had a taste of vacation for me : once a week away from the kitchen. One day i saw your pizza sauce recipe and decided to give it a try… so good ! Unfortunately no more vacation for me, but my pizzas make everyone happy ! Thanks for sharing your recipe !😊
Thank you Sylvie!
Excellent recipe! I needed a pizza sauce recipe so online searching I went. I’m so glad I found this recipe as it’s simply delicious. I cut back on the amount of oregano and it was perfect. I will be making this from now on whenever I need a delicious pizza sauce. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you Carol!
Great recipe. Love the consistency and flavors are pronounced but not overwhelming.
Thank you, Mike!
This is awesome thanks for sharing
I’m so glad you love it, Melinda!
I thought I would add what I did last time I made this recipe. I don’t usually buy tomato sauce, so I took the stick blender to a can of diced tomatoes, and it worked great. This really hits the spot for pizza sauce.
Sorry, you said that already (eyes rolling at myself). But I went ahead and made the whole recipe with the stick blender including some fresh herbs I picked, and that worked great too.
The flavour and consistency of the tomato sauce on a pizza is fundamental and your recipie shone, making such tasty, non-soggy pizzas. We love the sauce, thank you very much.
Thank you so much!
I’ve been making pizza for 60 plus years, but never had a recipe for the sauce. I won’t give away my crust recipe but sure glad you gave up your sauce recipe. Thats the best sauce recipe I have ever made. I went ahead and made 7x the recipe as had a #10 can of tomato 🍅 sauce (106 oz +1 12 oz can of crushed tomatoes), 2 14 oz of tomato paste, tried to get close with all the spices and sugar measurements. Needless to say i have enough to last for a while and all the sauce is 12oz containers already in the freezer! Thanks for the recipe, can’t wait to try more recipes!
I’m so happy to love this recipe!